Device for aligning sheets of material in stacks

ABSTRACT

An aligning device for sheet material arranged in stacks and particularly for cardboard or corrugated cardboard sheets. The device is particularly designed to align such sheets against one or several abutments which may be placed on two adjacent sides of a package of sheets. Even though the sheets of the package have a general format which slightly varies from one sheet to the next, all of the sheets may be aligned individually against the abutments.

United States Patent 1 Salvade [451 Jan. 16, 1973 [541 DEVICE FOR ALIGNING SHEETS OF MATERIAL IN STACKS [75] Inventor: Gennaro Salvade, Vaud, Switzerland [73] Assignee: J. Bob'st & Fils S.A., Prilly, Switzerland 22] Filed: Aug. 23, 1971 21 Appl. No.: 173,768

[ 30] Foreign Application Priority lData Sept. 23, 1970 Switzerland. ..l4l01/7O [52] US. ,..27l/89, 2lfi/65 [51] Int. Cl. ..B6Sh 31/34 [58] Field of Search ..271/86, 89; 214/65 [56] I References Cited 'OTHER PUBLICATIONS Hopper Card .logglerby M. Fiehl, IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Vol. 4,,No. '2, July, l96l.

Primary Examiner-Edward A. Sroka AttorneyCarlton Hill et al.

57] ABSTRACT An aligning device for sheet material arranged in stacks and particularly for cardboard or corrugated cardboard sheets. The device is particularly designed to align such sheets against one or several abutments which may be placed on two adjacent sides of a package of sheets. Even though the sheets of the package have a general format which slightly varies from one sheet to the next, all of the sheets may be aligned individually against the abutments.

10 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJAH 16 ms 3.711.088

62/7/70/0 Sa/vaae DEVICE FOR ALIGNING SHEETS OF MATERIAL IN STACKS CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This invention is not believed to be related to any application of applicant or any application assigned to the same assignee as the present invention.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention In the field where a press processes sheet material such as relatively large sheets of cardboard and particularly corrugated cardboard, it is desirable to have a reference line for all sheets of the stack. Often it is desirable to have two reference lines located at 90 with respect to each other. The problem of moving sheets into position against abutments defining the reference line or lines has been a serious one, since there is almost always a slight variation in the format of the sheets. That is to say some sheets are slightly shorter than others or slightly narrower than others in dimension.

2. Description of the Prior Art Applicant knows of no prior art device which successfully solves this problem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a device for aligning sheets in a package of sheet material which includes support means for the package of sheets, at least one abutment on at least one side of the support means and having means for separately urging each sheet of the package against the stop or stops. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a shuttle carries a plurality of lamellae mounted for forward and backward movement in planes parallel to their flat dimension. The lamellae have their rear ends backed up by a compressed air cushion within the shuttle, which enables continued forward movement of the shuttle even after each of the respective lamella has forced the sheet with which it engages against an abutment. The distance required for the yieldable movement of the lamellae within the shuttle is governed by the maximum variation of the format of the sheets.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic plan view with stops in section of a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the device of FIG. I as taken along the line IIII thereof, the shuttle being in operative position;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged horizontal section through the shuttle with one of the lamellae in its position when the shuttle is retracted and before its engagement with a sheet;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 but illustrating a modified form of the present invention; and

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view in vertical section of some of the lamellae in operative engagement with a group of sheets after the sheets have been moved against an abutment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings and comprises a plurality of support members in the form of rails 11 and an additional plurality of support members in the form of rollers 12 carried on arms 13. The arms 13 in turn are carried on a support rod 14 which is supported in any convenient manner to permit limited rocking movement of the arms 13. A package of sheets 15 is placed on the supports 11 and 12 in a position closely adjacent a pair of side stops l6 and an end stop 17. The individual sheets 15 of the package vary slightly in format as is represented by the variation of the lengthwise dimension as shown in FIG. 2 and as may be seen better in the fragmentary view of FIG. 5.

The device of the present invention is arranged to individually but simultaneously move each sheet of the package against the stops 16 and 17. This is provided for by having a movable shuttle 18 mounted at the opposite end of the package of sheets 15 from end stop 17 and by providing a pair of movable shuttles 19 mounted along the edge of the package of sheets 15 on the opposite side from stops 16. The shuttle 18 is carried on a reciprocating arm 20 mounted in a hydraulically operable or pneumatically operable member 21. It is to be understood that the shuttle 18 when moved against the end edge of the package of sheets 15, forces the sheets toward the abutment 17. When a new package of sheets is to be positioned and aligned the shuttle 18 is withdrawn by the pneumatic or hydraulic actuator 21. The movable shuttles 19 are carried on a cross arm 22 which in turn is carried on an arm 23 which in turn is mounted on or actuated by a pneumatic or hydraulic device 24.

A distinctive feature of the present invention is the construction of the shuttles 18 and 19. One form of such structure is exemplified by the structure shown in FIG. 3, which is a horizontal section through shuttle 18 between lamellae.

It will be seen that the shuttle includes a housing 25 having a chamber 26 therein. Mounted in the chamber are a large number of individual lamellae 27 which each have a thickness dimension slightly less than the thickness of an individual sheet 15. As shown in FIG. 3, each lamella in horizontal configuration is in the form of a T in which the top of the T 28 is within the chamber 26 and in which the leg 29 of the T extends out through a slot in the housing 25. The top arm 28 of the T is so dimensioned that the lamellae may move backward and forward within the chamber 26. The rear end of the housing 25 is provided with a duct 30 which connects to a source of compressed air through a conduit 31. When the front edge 32 of a lamella is forced against the end edge of a sheet 15 by movement of the shuttle 18, the sheet with which it engages is forced to the left until it reaches stop 17. Further movement of the shuttle 18 merely causes the lamellae to stand still and thus be moved relatively rearwardly in the chamber 26 against compressed air cushion in chamber 26. A similar action occurs with the lamellae contained in the shuttles 19 to cause the respective individual sheets to be moved against the stop 16.

The functioning of the lamellae is well illustrated in FIG. 2 and FIG. 5 where the sheets are shown of slightly different length and where the lamellae 27 are moved by the shuttles 18 to bear against the end edges of the sheets 15, Since the sheets 15 may be of slightly different length and width, some lamellae extend further out from the shuttle than others at the end of the shuttle stroke. The shuttle 19 operates similarly.

In the upper part of FIG. 2 it will be noted that the lamellae are extended out the maximum distance, the cross arm 28 being against the inner forward shoulder of the chamber 26. Beginning with the lamellae that engage the sheets, it will be observed that they extend out varying distances depending on the length of the sheets.

FIG. 4 illustrates a modified form of shuttle in that the lamellae are not of T shaped configuration. Each lamella 33 in the housing 34 is of rectangular configuration with a longitudinally extending slot 35 provided therein. A rod 36 carried by the housing 34 extends through the slot of each lamellae to limit its forward and rearward movement. The function and operation of the shuttle of FIG. 4 is the same as that described in connection with FIG. 3.

The lamellae 27 of FIG. 3 and the lamellae 33 of FIG. 4 are guided by the inner walls of the respective housing members and by the slots in the operating end of the housings.

It is to be understood that while the housing of a shuttle is described as having slots through which the lamellae extend, that a single opening may be provided in the housing, provided means is provided for substantially preventing escape of the compressed air at this point.

Although the invention has been described in connection with the preferred embodiments, it is not to be so limited as changes and modifications may be made which are within the full intended scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. An aligning device for engaging and moving a plurality of sheets arranged in a stack against abutment means comprising:

a shuttle having a hollow body;

a plurality of lamellae mounted within said body for limited forward and backward motion in their own planes;

an end portion of each lamella extending out through the wall of said body toward said stack of sheets;

each of said lamella being thinner than the thickness dimension of one of said sheets;

said body having a fluid under pressure therein behind the opposite end portion of said lamellae from the end portion projecting out from said body thereby urging each lamella individually toward its forwardmost position;

means for moving said shuttle to cause said lamellae to engage said sheets respectively and move said sheets against said abutment means, said fluid under pressure permitting relative backward motion of individual lamella when a sheet being moved is stopped by said abutment means.

2. A shuttle for engaging and aligning a stack of cardboard sheets against abutment means comprising:

a hollow body; means for moving said shuttle toward and away from said stack of sheets;

allow limited continued forward movement of said shuttle after the respective lamellae have moved the sheets which engage against said abutment means.

3. A device for aligning relatively stiff sheets which may have a slightly different format in a stack comprising:

means for supporting a stack of sheets;

abutment means against which the stack of sheets is to be moved;

a shuttle mounted for forward and backward motion toward and away from a stack of sheets on said supporting means, said shuttle including a housing having a chamber therein, a plurality of lamellae freely mounted for limited forward and backward motion within said chamber with end portions projecting out through a wall of said shuttle in the direction of said forward motion;

means for supplying compressed air to said chamber behind the rear edges of said lamellae, thereby resiliently to press said lamellae toward their forwardmost position; and

means to move said shuttle to press said lamellae respectively against the edge of each sheet opposite said abutment means, thereby, simultaneously to move said sheets against said abutment means irrespective of variation in format of said sheets.

4. An aligning device for engaging and moving a plurality of sheets arranged in a stack against abutment means located to engage two adjacent sides of said stack of sheets comprising:

a plurality of shuttles each having a hollow body;

a plurality of lamellae mounted within each of said bodies for limited forward and backward motion within their own planes, an end portion of each lamella extending out through the wall of said body in which it is mounted toward said stack of sheets, each of said lamella being thinner than the thickness dimension of one of said sheets;

each of said bodies having a fluid under pressure therein behind the opposite end portion of said lamellae from the end portion projected out from said body, thereby urging each lamella toward its forwardmost position; and

means for moving each of said shuttles to cause their respective lamellae to engage said sheets respectively and move said sheets against said abutment means, said fluid under pressure permitting relative backward motion of an individual lamella when a sheet being moved is stopped by an abutment means.

5. An aligning device for a stack of sheets which may have a slightly different format, comprising:

supporting means for said stack; abutment means positioned at at least one side of said supporting means;

shuttle means for simultaneously moving each individual sheet of the stack against said abutment, said shuttle means including a hollow body and a series of superposed lamellae positioned within said body in planes parallel to the supporting plane of said supporting means, each lamella being movable in its own plane and having one end projecting out of said shuttle to engage an individual sheet of said stack when said shuttle means is moved toward said stack;

means for urging said lamellae toward their furthest outwardly extended position; and

means for moving said shuttle means to engage said stack and urge said stack against said abutment means.

6. A device according to claim 5, in which the inner ends of said lamellae are backed up by a compressed 7. A device according to claim 5, in which abutment means include abutments to be engaged by two adjacent sides of said stack which extend at right angles to each other.

8. A device according to claim 5, in which said lamellae are of T-shape configuration in plan view with the cross arm of the T being located at the inward end of each lamella.

9. A device according to claim 5, in which said lamellae are of rectangular configuration having a longitudinally extending slot therein and in which said hollow body has a pin therein extending through said slots to limit the forward and back movement of a lamella within said hollow body.

10. A device according to claim 5, in which the shuttle is moved back and forth by a fluid actuated cylinder and piston. 

1. An aligning device for engaging and moving a plurality of sheets arranged in a stack against abutment means comprising: a shuttle having a hollow body; a plurality of lamellae mounted within said body for limited forward and backward motion in their own planes; an end portion of each lamella extending out through the wall of said body toward said stack of sheets; each of said lamella being thinner than the thickness dimension of one of said sheets; said body having a fluid under pressure therein behind the opposite end portion of said lamellae from the end portion projecting out from said body thereby urging each lamella individually toward its forwardmost position; means for moving said shuttle to cause said lamellae to engage said sheets respectively and move said sheets against said abutment means, said fluid under pressure permitting relative backward motion of individual lamella when a sheet being moved is stopped by said abutment means.
 2. A shuttle for engaging and aligning a stack of cardboard sheets against abutment means comprising: a hollow body; means for moving said shuttle toward and away from said stack of sheets; lamellae mounted for free movement within said hollow body in planes substantially parallel to the planes of the sheets, one portion of each of said lamella extending out from said body toward said stack of sheets, each lamella being thinner than a sheet and each being positioned to engage an edge of a sheet; and means to provide a fluid under pressure in said chamber behind said lamellae, thereby to provide a resilient backup pad behind said lamellae to allow limited continued forward movement of said shuttle after the respective lamellae have moved the sheets which engage against said abutment means.
 3. A device for aligning relatively stiff sheets which may have a slightly different format in a stack comprising: means for supporting a stack of sheets; abutment means against which the stack of sheets is to be moved; a shuttle mounted for forward and backward motion toward and away from a stack of sheets on said supporting means, said shuttle including a housing having a chamber therein, a plurality of lamellae freely mounted for limited forward and backward motion within said chamber with end portions projecting out through a wall of said shuttle in the direction of said forward motion; means for supplying compressed air to said chamber behind the rear edges of said lamellae, thereby resiliently to press said lamellae toward their forwardmost position; and means to move said shuttle to press said lamellae respectively against the edge of each sheet opposite said abutment means, thereby, simultaneously to move said sheets against said abutment means irrespective of variation in format of said sheets.
 4. An aligning device for engaging and moving a plurality of sheets arranged in a stack against abutment means located to engage two adjacent sides of said stack of sheets comprising: a plurality of shuttles each having a hollow body; a plurality of lamellae mounted Within each of said bodies for limited forward and backward motion within their own planes, an end portion of each lamella extending out through the wall of said body in which it is mounted toward said stack of sheets, each of said lamella being thinner than the thickness dimension of one of said sheets; each of said bodies having a fluid under pressure therein behind the opposite end portion of said lamellae from the end portion projected out from said body, thereby urging each lamella toward its forwardmost position; and means for moving each of said shuttles to cause their respective lamellae to engage said sheets respectively and move said sheets against said abutment means, said fluid under pressure permitting relative backward motion of an individual lamella when a sheet being moved is stopped by an abutment means.
 5. An aligning device for a stack of sheets which may have a slightly different format, comprising: supporting means for said stack; abutment means positioned at at least one side of said supporting means; shuttle means for simultaneously moving each individual sheet of the stack against said abutment, said shuttle means including a hollow body and a series of superposed lamellae positioned within said body in planes parallel to the supporting plane of said supporting means, each lamella being movable in its own plane and having one end projecting out of said shuttle to engage an individual sheet of said stack when said shuttle means is moved toward said stack; means for urging said lamellae toward their furthest outwardly extended position; and means for moving said shuttle means to engage said stack and urge said stack against said abutment means.
 6. A device according to claim 5, in which the inner ends of said lamellae are backed up by a compressed fluid pad.
 7. A device according to claim 5, in which abutment means include abutments to be engaged by two adjacent sides of said stack which extend at right angles to each other.
 8. A device according to claim 5, in which said lamellae are of T-shape configuration in plan view with the cross arm of the T being located at the inward end of each lamella.
 9. A device according to claim 5, in which said lamellae are of rectangular configuration having a longitudinally extending slot therein and in which said hollow body has a pin therein extending through said slots to limit the forward and back movement of a lamella within said hollow body.
 10. A device according to claim 5, in which the shuttle is moved back and forth by a fluid actuated cylinder and piston. 